[Breznikov]

Sorry for the double post and bump, but I'd like to ask you guys something, again

As I've said, the Denon D1001 seems a very interesting headphone. But now I've set my 'sights' on the AKG K272HD. A shop nearby sells them at a relatively low price (they won't let me test them out though

). The problem is, I can't find much (English) reviews on the internet. I've found a few, but they are exactly the same. They all say you shouldn't use them if you don't use 'ultra-high-quality audio' and that 'Transparency exposes every hidden flaw'. I don't have all my music in 'ultra high-quality', so these phones may be a bad choice for me then.

And one more thing, I can get them for €135,- (which is about $188) and the Denon D1001's are about €110,- (~$150). Do you guys think the K272HD's are worth the extra money? I will use a portable FiiO E5 amp with them, I've just ordered one (my brother wanted one and I asked him to buy two).

 

[Breznikov]

Well, I'm going to give this thread a bump one more time. I don't actually know if that is allowed, so please tell me if it isn't. I've been on vacation for a week, so I couldn't reply earlier.

Well, I'm back for a day or two now and today I went to a HiFi store nearby (which I didn't know existed

). I tried out the Sennheiser HD555 and HD595, the Denon D1000 and the Beyerdynamic DT770 and DT990.

I concluded that the Sennheisers really were leaking an awful lot. I already expected that, but I wanted to try it out for myself. They did sound very nice though, but I don't want that much leaking.

Furthermore, I was a bit disappointed by the Denon. It was quite small and I didn't find it that comfortable. Maybe that's because it was the only headphone with (p?)leather pads and the others all had velour pads, but I didn't really like it. The sound was okay, but I wasn't really impressed by the 'phone.

Now, the Beyers. I found them really comfortable, those pads feel very nice and they sound good. I wasn't really 'blown away' by the sound, but maybe that's because I couldn't use my own music (forgot to take my iPod

).

Unfortunately, they didn't sell AKG, which I really wanted to try out. Of the headphones I tried I'd put the DT770 on #1, since it was more comfortable than the Denon and didn't leak any sound.

So then I started looking at closed AKG 'phones, but there aren't that many, am I right? I've looked at the K271 MKII and K272HD before, but a lot of reviews were saying you should use high quality music or buy another headphone. Will they really won't be any good with lesser quality music? And how about movies?

I believe I've said it before, but I'll be using them mostly with an Asus Xonar D1 soundcard and on rare occasions with my iPod Classic. I've ordered a FiiO E5 amplifier which I will use with my iPod and computer (if it helps).

 

[cknelson15]

I think the ATH-M50's would probably work well for what you are looking to do and they don't really require an amp. I was driving them from my MacbookPro and they sounded great. I'm sure you can get them within budget, too.

 

[Breznikov]

I'll probably order them from the internet anyway. In The Netherlands headphones are very expensive I've noticed. The shop I was testing the headphones out was selling the DT990 for 325 Euros, which is about 460 dollars. If I order them in the UK I well spend less than half that

They did have very good service though, which is worth a bit to me. But not a few hundred euros.

And the M50's, I've read about them a few times. They do seem to be quite good headphones. But I've read good things about the D1000/D1001 as well, and I didn't really like them. I found them a bit uncomfortable and the build quality wasn't that good in my opinion. Compared to the Beyers, I thought they felt a bit 'cheap', if you know what I mean. The M50 is of course a completely different headphone, but I can't test them out, so I have to rely on you guys

And to be honest, I'd rather have velour pads. It's not really necessary, but I do find velour pads really comfortable.

 

[paaj]

Go back to that store and see if they can do something about the price. They probably do know the situation with internet stores and should be willing the meet you someway halfway or as far as their margins allow. You need to remember a store like that has much more costs than the random internet shop. One of them is being able to let you audition. So if you do decide to go for one of those, at least let them try to match a satisfying price level.

The K271 is very detailed so it will show the errors of crappy files but virtually every headphone of this price and up will. Don't let that turn you of, good quality files are easy to make

Now you've heard a good few. If there is one you liked best, it is safest to just get that one. But it also gives you a base to sort of judge other comparisons. It has worked out pretty well for me, but in the end every ear is different and words are not sound.

 

[cknelson15]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breznikov /img/forum/go_quote.gif And to be honest, I'd rather have velour pads. It's not really necessary, but I do find velour pads really comfortable.

The pleather pads on the M50's are super comfortable. They just get a bit hot after a while if you're not in an air-conditioned room.

 

[Breznikov]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paaj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Go back to that store and see if they can do something about the price. They probably do know the situation with internet stores and should be willing the meet you someway halfway or as far as their margins allow. You need to remember a store like that has much more costs than the random internet shop. One of them is being able to let you audition. So if you do decide to go for one of those, at least let them try to match a satisfying price level. The K271 is very detailed so it will show the errors of crappy files but virtually every headphone of this price and up will. Don't let that turn you of, good quality files are easy to make Now you've heard a good few. If there is one you liked best, it is safest to just get that one. But it also gives you a base to sort of judge other comparisons. It has worked out pretty well for me, but in the end every ear is different and words are not sound.

Thanks for your reply.

I know a store like that can't match internet prices, I really don't blame them. But the price difference is enormous. If it wasn't so big I wouldn't really mind paying the difference. Indeed them letting me audition them is worth something, their excellent service is too. But while I don't mind paying two or three tenners more, I don't think it is worth this much. But I could ask them to make a good price if I ask them. I doubt they will drop very much, but I can at least try and give them the chance.

However, I didn't really find the perfect headphone there. But well, three headphones were open-backed, which I don't really want.

And I'll try if I can find a store that sells the AKG K271 or the K272 so I can try them out. But I've tried nearly every audio store I believe. In the meantime, I'll read as much as I can about them. The only real drawback I've read is that they're not suitable for 'crappy' audio files. But as you said, probably every headphone isn't suitable for that.

 

[paaj]

Are you looking at the same versions? There is a normal and a pro version. The pro seems considerably cheaper, but I don't know what the difference is. I think I read that the Pro has a tighter grip, but how that affects the sound?
normal version DT990 prices seem to start at €280 here, with amazon.co.uk prices around the same. So then the price is not that unreasonable.

 

[Breznikov]

I've tested this model:

The Pro version looks different, so I guess I've tested the normal version. I forgot to ask about the impedance, so maybe I've tested out a version which I wouldn't buy anyway

About the AKG's, I can get the K272HD nearby for a reasonable price, about the cheapest I can get them for (even on the internet). They don't sell the K271 MKII there, so if I want that I have to order it on the internet. Not that much of a problem, but then I'll pay about 10-20 euros more and if it breaks it's not that easy to return it. What are all the differences between the two? The looks are different, the K271 has a removable cable and an on-off switch. I probably won't recable it anyway, so if those are all the differences I'll probably go for the K272HD.

 

[paaj]

FWIR the k272hd and k271mkII should have the same sound, but K271 has that detachable cable and turns of when not on the head (cool feature, not really useful... very funny when a friend tried to listen to it but couldn't

) Didn't know the k272 didn't have that.

 

[Breznikov]

Well, I'm not certain about that switch, but I believe I've read something like that somewhere. But I can be wrong of course.

I don't really mind about the cable. I'm not that much of an audiophile that I will recable my headphones. Unless the cable get's broken and I have to, of course. So I think I'll go for the K272HD then. I've looked at quite a lot of headphones and the only negative things I've found about this 'phone is that they show flaws in crappy files very well. I'll just have to see that for myself I guess, maybe I won't even notice it that much

 

[Breznikov]

I decided it was time to pull the trigger. So today I went and bought an AKG K272HD. Now I'll read how to correctly burn them in, since I don't know a single thing about that. So far I'm very pleased with them. They are really, really comfortable (more than the Beyers I auditioned a few days ago) and the sound is very good, in my opinion better than my brothers' Beyerdynamic DT831.

Thanks everyone for the help!